Kino Lorber Acquires Jyllian Gunther's 'The New Public'

Kino Lorber has acquired all U.S. and Canadian rights to "The New Public," Jyllian Gunther's documentary about the challenges teachers face. The film, which premiered at the Hamptons Film Festival in 2012, was recently featured in an Op-Ed article in "The New York Times."

Kino Lorber has acquired all U.S. and Canadian rights to "The New Public," Jyllian Gunther's documentary about the challenges teachers face. The film, which premiered at the Hamptons Film Festival in 2012, was recently featured in an Op-Ed article in "The New York Times."

"The New Public" chronicles the first and fourth year of Brooklyn Community Arts & Media high school in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, an underserved community where 1/3 of residents live below the poverty line and the graduation rate is 40%.

Kino Lorber plans to release the film immediately to the educational
market via its Kino Lorber Edu division. Kino will also partner with
Gathr to offer the film for on-demand community screenings around the
country. The film will be broadcast on December 31 as part of the PBS
World Channel/America ReFramed series and in 2014, the film will be
released digitally and on DVD.

"I am thrilled to be working with Kino Lorber," said Jyllian Gunther. "It's an honor to have The New Public included among such an amazing roster of films, and under the helm of a team with such a clear vision for what each film needs. I immediately felt that they understood the ways The New Public can be used as a valuable tool for educators and the education community at large, while also recognizing the film's potential for a wider audience as an emotionally engaging and complex story. After a long haul, The New Public has finally found its ideal home."

Elizabeth Sheldon, Vice President of Kino Lorber, Inc. said: "The New Public is an important film that illuminates a complex policy issue that America is struggling with regarding how to best reform our education system. Films such as The New Public can dramatically reshape our public debate, both informing and hopefully reforming policy and practices on the ground. Kino Lorber will engage the film's core audience and expand it."